Transformation in operations

The Saudi Tadawul Group’s operations encompasses six divisions; Procurement and Facility Management, Marketing, Customer Experience, Shared Services, Information Technology, and Corporate Project Management Office (PMO).

The Group is the overall strategic owner of the operations functions of the Group, as it is of the IT function. Development activities for the subsidiaries are drawn up for operations, by a similar process as they are for IT. The Group Operations impact initiatives carried out under all of the seven strategic pillars. There is a close alignment between the IT, Operations, and the Strategy teams. Centralizing operations at Group level results in similar benefits as it does for IT.

Corporate Project Management Office

The Corporate Project Management Office (PMO), within the Group operations, monitors the implementation of the Group’s programmes and projects to ensure the successful implementation of the Corporate Strategy. Corporate PMO sets the required Project Management Standards that will foster and support the programmes and projects execution. The Corporate PMO accomplished the following activities during the year 2021:

Monitoring, compliance, and Reporting of 60+Projects and Programmes which includes:

• Conduct of eight PMO Steering Committees
• Conduct of monthly Progress Reports/Meetings with subsidiaries’ CEOs
• Conduct of biweekly Progress Reports/Meetings with Chiefs and Heads
• Development of a monthly Cost Management Reports

Corporate Strategy Alignment which includes:

• Conduct of 2025 Tadawul Corporate Strategy workshop
• Development of 10 Strategic Initiatives reports
• Conduct of 6+ Strategy alignment meetings

The quarterly CMA/Saudi Tadawul Group Alignment which includes

• Monitoring and reporting of 60+ initiatives and tasks
• Conduct of three Steering Committees
• Conduct of three alignment meetings
• Conduct of nine working group meetings

Project Management Training Programme and the internal awareness sessions

Enhancements for the project management tools and templates

The Corporate PMO is keen to continue its effort in improving the project management environment in Saudi Tadawul Group by planning to achieve the following in 2022:

• Monitoring and compliance of 2022 Portfolio of projects and programmes
• Reporting on the projects/programme status for sponsors and CEOs of subsidiaries
• CMA/Saudi Tadawul Group alignment in governance
• Development of a Corporate PMO Internal Guide
• Conducting the project management training programme

Procurement and facility management

Procurement and Facility Management executed a smooth transition to align its operations with the new Group structure. There have been some changes to the authority and responsibilities of the Division consequent to the new structure. New Delegation of Authority (DOA) was introduced in coordination with the Compliance, Legal, Finance, and new Operations Division. New Procurement Committee Charters were also introduced.

Reviewing, amending, and updating was conducted for following documents:

• Legal documents, contracts/letters for Saudi Tadawul Group and all subsidiaries
• Authorities for purchase requisitions, purchase orders, and receiving in new Oracle-based structure and DOA
• All printout formats were amended to reflect new management signatures, new company information, and logos.

The Division also provided support for a number of changes relating to Group Companies:

• Supporting newly established subsidiaries of Saudi Tadawul Group such as WAMID and the Exchange in term of procurement system and process readiness, delegation of authority, training, and offices and facilities needs readiness.

Procurement and Facility Management Department is playing a key role in the New Tower Project. Interior designs were completed in 2021, and the RFPs for the main contractor and other furniture vendors were floated. Intensive engagements have been conducted with a wide range of stakeholders. RFPs for related plant and equipment are to be finalized by early 2022. 99% of target KPIs of 2021 were achieved.

The following are some quantitative highlights of Procurement’s achievements in 2021.

• Around 700 commercial purchase orders and contracts have been issued
• Total purchase volume SAR 135.52 Mn and achieved yearly saving from new business deals is 10% of procurement spend.

All audit items on procurement have been successfully closed and submitted in the system. We worked with the IT Division, to develop operations such as capturing savings per buyer, type of contracts, end user notifications, vendor and contract information, and follow up reminder. These enhancements have led to closing more than 10 audit points and enhanced operational efficiencies.

The Saudi Tadawul Group supports the growth of the Saudi economy as well as the SME sector. Recently, Procurement and Facility Division has signed an agreement with Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF). This agreement allows Saudi Tadawul Group to use Forsa platform which facilitates small and medium enterprises to conduct business with the Government and large organizations.

Shared Services

The Shared Services standardized most of the services that are delivered by the Saudi Tadawul Group in order to improve the processes between departments; this will ensure effective and efficient service delivery to enable the Group and its subsidiaries to achieve their strategic objectives.

Shared Services also reviewed and upgraded documentation related to Service Level Agreements (SLAs), in addition to utilizing technology to improve and optimize service delivery.

Corporate Marketing and Communications

The Marketing Department also mounted some initiatives connected with the change, mainly directed towards awareness raising. The programmes were targeted towards both Saudi and international audiences; they included, press conferences, secured media coverage, developing briefing packs for the Groups’ leadership, and developing the social media campaigns. Employees were included in the publicity campaign by way of internal communication and internal town-halls. A tech and innovation plan was also implemented to enhance the visibility of Saudi Tadawul Group and key executives on the global stage. The execution of this plan will be led by the marketing team, which will seek to maximize its impact by developing a campaign plan to increase its visibility across key target audiences.

The Marketing Department executed the branding project to create a brand strategy and a visual identity aligned with the brand, for the Group and its subsidiaries. An international branding agency was hired to help drive the project, together with the Internal Committee, the Board of Directors, and all stakeholders. A marketing strategy and campaign was developed to launch the new brands. A brand rollout plan was developed to manage the transition from the old to the new brands, internally and externally.

Customer experience

The Customer Experience team has been heavily active on collecting customers’ feedback in order to optimize the customer journey across all products and services. There were over 1,400+ customer feedback collected in 2021; the feedback was from issuers, members, information providers, and investors. The feedback collected is a critical factor for the success of Saudi Tadawul Group.

The Customer Service team has also played a key role in assisting the customers with their enquiries. There were 56,143 customer’s enquiries that were assisted through calls, emails, live chat, and social media.

Customer Experience achieved the following scores:

• SLA compliance – 98%
• Quality score – 97%
• Customer satisfaction – 99%